Fry

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

How fast do fry grow? In my lake I'm seeing fry that are about as long as my pinky finger from tip to the second joint, so about 1.5 inches.

[The Bassman]

At that stage they are more fingerling than fry and are growing fast (if they don't get eaten). A lot depends on the particular body of water. Not sure when they would be catchable. Probably 2-3 yrs(?).

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

From the following I'm guessing that the fry I'm seeing are about three to six weeks old.

 

"Fry will remain in the nest until their yolk sacs  are absorbed (1 to 2 weeks) and disperse when they are about 0.5 to 1 inch long." https://fisheries.tamu.edu/pond-management/species/largemouth-bass/

 

Would it be safe to say that the spawn ended on this water about three weeks ago, approximately?

[MN Fisher]

It depends on a variety of factors. Food, location, predation.

 

Plentiful forage will allow the fingerlings to grow at their maximum potential.

Southern bass grow faster than northern bass...growth slows appreciably in colder water.

If they're constantly having to 'run for their lives' from larger fish - even bass...yes, cannibalism exists in the fish world - they'll have less time to eat, slowing growth.

[WRB]

What species of fry? Henshaw has bluegill, crappie, bass and carp fry this time of year.

Tom

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

12 hours ago, WRB said:

What species of fry? Henshaw has bluegill, crappie, bass and carp fry this time of year.

Tom

LOL, guess I could have been more specific, the fry I'm seeing are bass.

[WRB]

2 hours ago, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

LOL, guess I could have been more specific, the fry I'm seeing are bass.

What you discribe are bass fingerlings, fry are too small to identify without a adult males  guarding them. 

Paul Roberts , member, has a vedio on the bass spawn cycle that has information to answer your question. 

Tom

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

1 hour ago, WRB said:

What you discribe are bass fingerlings, fry are too small to identify without a adult males  guarding them. 

Paul Roberts , member, has a vedio on the bass spawn cycle that has information to answer your question. 

Tom

Thank you Tom. I've been reading about this years seemingly late spawn, what I'm trying to determine is if the Bass at Henshaw/Wolford are in that recovery stage after spawn. Bites have dropped off significantly.

 

Just trying to be a better fisherman by learning a little more about my prey. Really looking forward to the video, Thanks agin.

 

This must be what your talking about, 

 

[WRB]

I haven't fished Henshaw or Wolford in a long time. Henshaw has more cover then Wolford for young juevnile bass to servive then Wolford. Wolford being a stocked trout lake produces a few big bass each year and fished it more then Henshaw. I like to fish Henshaw with good off shore structure jig and worm bite and decent shallow east end flats with weed mats for top water action.

I would say the bass have transitioned into summer period about a month past the major spawn at both lakes.

Tom

PS, yes that is the vedio 

[Paul Roberts]

On 7/16/2019 at 6:06 PM, Hewhospeaksmuchbull said:

From the following I'm guessing that the fry I'm seeing are about three to six weeks old.

 

"Fry will remain in the nest until their yolk sacs  are absorbed (1 to 2 weeks) and disperse when they are about 0.5 to 1 inch long." https://fisheries.tamu.edu/pond-management/species/largemouth-bass/

 

Would it be safe to say that the spawn ended on this water about three weeks ago, approximately?

Hi, Hewho... Just saw this.

 

The duration of the Bass spawn is longer in subtropical waters -as much as 6months- and shorter as you go N -can be finished in a month in the far north. In a far S water you could see 1.5" fingerlings from, say, Feb into July, although there are peak spawn periods when most are produced. Bass grow faster in the S too; Takes 2-3 months for bass to reach 1.5" where I live (N CO). S fish might be able to do this in a months time.

 

Tom @WRB would be able to talk about S CA waters best. I'll guess that you are into Summer by now, and that spawning has ended.

[Hewhospeaksmuchbull]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

Hi, Hewho... Just saw this.

 

The duration of the Bass spawn is longer in subtropical waters -as much as 6months- and shorter as you go N -can be finished in a month in the far north. In a far S water you could see 1.5" fingerlings from, say, Feb into July, although there are peak spawn periods when most are produced. Bass grow faster in the S too; Takes 2-3 months for bass to reach 1.5" where I live (N CO). S fish might be able to do this in a months time.

 

Tom (WRB) would be able to talk about S CA waters best. I'll guess that you are into Summer by now, and that spawning has ended.

Thank you Paul, fantastic video by the way.

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks! My next doc is on the development of behavior in LMB over their first year. It's finished; I'm just getting ready to release it. It's about tiny baby bass. However, it sets the stage for future docs about the nature and behavior of bass of all ages and sizes; They only fall so far from the trunk of the tree.

[senile1]

As many have stated, a number of factors play into this including warmth of the region, forage, etc.  To give you an idea, in Missouri at Table Rock and Stockton Lakes, the majority of surviving 2015 largemouth fry will exceed 15 inches in 2019 based on MDC information.  The further south you go the fish will obviously tend to grow faster, and vice versa for the north.

[Paul Roberts]

2 hours ago, senile1 said:

As many have stated, a number of factors play into this including warmth of the region, forage, etc.  To give you an idea, in Missouri at Table Rock and Stockton Lakes, the majority of surviving 2015 largemouth fry will exceed 15 inches in 2019 based on MDC information.  The further south you go the fish will obviously tend to grow faster, and vice versa for the north.

That's about the growth rates we see here in CO too. It takes about 8yrs to grow an 18"er here, in public -not intensely managed for growth- waters. In the far S, with ample appropriate forage, bass are known to reach 15" in their second year! What's amazing is how variable growth can be, given enough appropriate food. Tough job though, playing god, as a manager.

[senile1]

2 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

That's about the growth rates we see here in CO too. It takes about 8yrs to grow an 18"er here, in public -not intensely managed for growth- waters. In the far S, with ample appropriate forage, bass are known to reach 15" in their second year! What's amazing is how variable growth can be, given enough appropriate food. Tough job though, playing god, as a manager.

 

I read the MDC Annual Prospects links for a lot of lakes off of the MDC fishing app and MDC site and that is where I found this information.  While it states that most 2015 fry in those two lakes will be over 15 inches in 2019 I believe that some with better genes make it to that length in three years.  The three to four year time frame covers the vast majority of the year class.